Any employee who works out of their own home for someone else is a home worker. The employee may do work such as sewing, taking orders for goods or services over the phone, or office work via computer links. Home workers are entitled to all the rights and benefits of The Labour Standards Act including leaves, notice of work schedules, meal breaks, notice of termination and so on.

Employers of home workers must keep the same payroll information as any other employer. As well, home workers must be provided with pay stubs. See Payroll Administration in this booklet for more information. For information on E.I., C.P.P. and Income Tax deductions, contact Revenue Canada.

Self-employed people who use their home as a base of operations are not covered by The Labour Standards Act.

1. A care provider is someone hired for the care and supervision of an immediate family member in either the home of the employer or the home of the family member requiring care.

2. A domestic worker is someone hired to perform work in the private residence of the employer related to the management and operation of the household (i.e. cleaning, washing and gardening). This does not include the supervision and care of an immediate family member.

3. A sitter is the traditional "babysitter" who comes in on an occasional, short term basis to allow parents time to go shopping, to the movies, etc. It also refers to a worker who relieves a proprietor of an "approved home" for a period of not more than 21 days in a year.

An "approved home" means an approved home under The Mental Health Services Act and Regulations or a private-service home licenced under The Residential Services Act and Regulations.

Come-in care providers (that is, care providers who do not live in the home of the employer) are exempt from minimum wage, overtime, and the requirement to provide notice of termination or pay in lieu of notice. All other labour standards provisions apply.

Live-in care providers (that is, care providers who live in the residence where work is performed) are eligible for minimum wage for the first eight hours of work in a day. The employer and employee can agree to payment for additional hours of work, but there is no legislated requirement to do so. Special provisions for live-in care providers include the requirement for two consecutive days off per week and a maximum deduction of $250.00 per month for room and board. Except for these special provisions, other labour standards apply, such as the requirement to provide notice of termination or pay in lieu of notice and the right to at least eight consecutive hours off in any 24 hour period.

Come-in domestics are covered by the entire Labour Standards Act.

Live-in domestics are eligible for minimum wage for the first eight hours of work in a day. The employer and the employee can agree to payment for additional hours of work after the eight hours, but there is no legislated requirement to do so. Other special provisions for live-in domestics include the requirement for two consecutive days off per week, and a maximum deduction of $250.00 per month for board and room. Except for these special rules, all other Labour Standards Act provisions apply.

Sitters are exempted entirely from The Labour Standards Act.

If an "immediate family member" is the only care provider or domestic, then The Labour Standards Act does not apply. Immediate family means: parent, grandparent, child, brother, or sister of either the employer or the spouse of the employer.

If a parent carries a child to the house of the care giver, that care giver is viewed as an independent agent and The Labour Standards Act does not apply.

Yes. Employers have to maintain payroll records that include: hours worked each day, the time when work begins and ends, the wages paid, the dates annual holidays are taken and annual holiday pay, the details of the employment contract (including the hourly rate), and the deductions made from the employee’s wages. See Payroll Administration in this booklet for more information.

Pay stubs must be provided to all employees including domestics and care providers. For information on Employment Insurance, C.P.P. and Income Tax deductions, contact Revenue Canada.

If the concern is about wages, overtime, statutory holiday pay, annual vacation pay, dismissal, or if you are not sure where your complaint "fits," call Labour Standards toll free at 1-800-667-1783.

An employee must file a complaint for unpaid wages within one year.

Labour Standards can only recover wages that should have been paid to the employee during the year before the complaint was filed or during the last year the employee worked for the employer. Employees who are owed wages that should have been paid more than one year before the complaint was filed, or before the last year of employment, may be able to recover the wages in a court action. A lawyer should be consulted.

The employee must fill out a complaint report form. Forms can be obtained by writing, phoning or visiting any of the Labour Standards Offices listed on the back of this booklet. Employees who need help filling out the form can visit or call the nearest Labour Standards office. The form should be completed in full with as much information as possible to assist the Labour Standards Officer investigating the complaint. To fill out the form the employee will need the following information:

(a) the employer’s name, address, telephone number, postal code and the name of the employee’s supervisor;

(b) the employee’s address, postal code, phone number, social insurance number;

(c) the date the employee started work and the date the employee ended work (if no longer employed);

(d) the employee’s wage rate, regular hours of work per day and per week;

(e) if available, a pay cheque stub or a statement of earnings if pay is direct deposited into the employee’s account; and,

(f) details about the claim, for example the dates for which wages are being claimed and the amounts.

A Labour Standards Officer reviews the complaint form and may call the employee for more information. The Officer will also contact the employer and may inspect the employer’s payroll records, talk with other employees and gather other evidence. (Please refer to Payroll Administration for more information on the records the employer is required to keep.)

If the Officer finds that wages are owed to the employee, the Officer will let the employer know and will try to get payment from the employer. If an employer offers to settle a claim by paying less than what the Officer asked for, the Officer will tell the employee. The employee then has to decide whether to accept the amount offered. If the complaint is not resolved, the Director of Labour Standards may issue a document called a "Wage Assessment."

A Wage Assessment is a legal document issued by the Director of Labour Standards. It sets out the amount of wages the Director believes are owed to the employee. The Wage Assessment can be issued against the employer, the corporate directors, or both.

Yes. Wage assessments can be appealed by both employers and employees if they disagree with the amount of wages.

A letter indicating that either the employer or the employee wishes to appeal the wage assessment must be sent to the Registrar of Appeals within 21 days of the time when you received the wage assessment. The notice of appeal must give the reasons why the sender wishes to appeal the decision. Such a letter should be sent to:

Registrar of Appeals
Department of Labour
3rd Floor, 1870 Albert Street
Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 3V7

A notice of appeal may also be sent by fax to (306) 787-4780. If you mail your notice of appeal, please send it by registered or certified mail so that you can prove the letter was delivered within the 21 day time limit.

If an employer appeals, he must also include the amount of the wage assessment or $500, whichever is less, to be held as a deposit for payment of the wage claim. If no wages are found to be owing, the deposit is returned.

An impartial adjudicator will conduct an informal hearing to give everybody a chance to tell their side of the story. The adjudicator will then make a decision as to how much, if any, wages are owing to the employee. Either side can represent themselves, or be represented by a lawyer or another person. Normally, the Labour Standards Officer will give the evidence in support of the Wage Assessment.

Yes. This decision can be appealed to the Court of Queen’s Bench and the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, but only on questions of law or jurisdiction. A lawyer is likely required at this point.

The Department can receive money from the employer or corporate directors if they choose to pay voluntarily, and this money will be paid to the employee. If the employer refuses to pay, the Department will issue a Certificate that sets out how much money is owed to the employee. This Certificate is filed in the Court of Queen’s Bench and becomes a judgment of that Court. The employee may use it to collect the wages owing. "Third Party Demands" can be issued to collect judgements in addition to actions taken by the Office of the Sheriff.

It does not cost anything to make a complaint or talk to someone in the Labour Standards Branch. If wages are found to be owing, and the parties can reach an agreement, no fees will be charged to the employer or corporate directors.

If a wage assessment is issued to recover the employee’s wages, then an administrative fee will be charged to the employer or corporate directors named in the wage assessment. The fee is now 10% of the wage assessment from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $500.